Dec 21st, 2019 : Sounds Legit

[xoxoxoBruce]

Scottish money is different. Printed by three private banks and used not only in Scotland but all over the
UK even though it’s not legal tender. What?

Three Scottish banks are authorized to print bank notes in Scotland, yet none of them are central banks. This power to print banknotes was vested upon the private banks by the Bank Notes (Scotland) Act 1845, under the condition that the issuing banks deposit an equivalent sum in pound sterling or gold with the Bank of England. This backing by the Bank of England is intended to maintain public confidence in the value the notes represent. The idea is that if one of the Scottish banks close, and all banknotes issued by the bank become worthless, the notes from the defunct bank could be replaced with regular Bank of England issued cash.
The same applies to Northern Ireland banknotes. Four commercial banks in Northern Ireland are allowed to print banknotes, but they have to deposit the equivalent in pound sterling with the Bank of England.

Ok that’s better, the Bank of England is holding the real money to back the play money.

The legislation stands on solid ground, but for one logistical caveat—how does a bank store billions of banknotes, one for every Scottish and Irish banknote in circulation, without overflowing its limited vault space? The solution is simple—print a limited amount of very high denomination banknotes to consolidate the sum into as few cash as possible.

OK, the BoE collected Billions of Pounds Sterling and didn’t have room for it so just printed a receipt for it...
...which they keep, but they don’t have the money anymore.
Probably should ask Cynthia Payne, Vivien Ella Walden, and Guinness, if they’ve seen any of it.

In 1908, the Bank of England printed its first one million pound banknote, nicknamed the Giant. This was followed by the first Titan—a hundred million pound banknote. They are printed on different material to normal notes, and in larger paper sizes. The Titans are printed on A4-sized paper and Giants on the smaller A5. The Bank of England prints them internally, and then locks them away carefully. They are not for circulation. According to the BBC, over the past hundred years, the Bank of England has printed more than four thousand Giants and Titans with a total value of eight billion pounds.

No wonder they resisted converting to the Euro, what a nightmare that would have been.


link

[sexobon]

I'd like to find a banknote from the Bank of Brigadoon for my collection; but, I hear they're hard to come by.

[Carruthers]

I've spent plenty BofE notes in Scotland but I rarely see a Scottish note down here.

Things might have changed, but years ago I was on my way back from a temporary work placement in NE Scotland and had to stop for fuel at a motorway service area* south of the border.

I only had Scottish notes so asked if they were acceptable before purchase and was told they were allowed to take them but not give them in change.

What the state of play is these days, I don't know, but have a feeling that you still might have some difficulty in getting them accepted in England.

Plastic, of course, solves these problems.


*Never a good idea as fuel is always ruinously expensive at these places, but needs must...

[limey]

I've had plenty of shops in England refuse my Scottish banknotes. I take my custom elsewhere on principle even if I then use plastic to pay.

Sent by magick

[Undertoad]

You will have to pocket that attitude after Scottish independence and Scotland rejoining the EU

They did away with the Franc, which had been around since the 1300s... I don't think they will accept any of this!

[sexobon]

Originally Posted by limey

I've had plenty of shops in England refuse my Scottish banknotes. ...

How many of those working in shops in England are going to know the security features of banknotes from various Scottish producers so they can tell genuine from counterfeit?

Here, even with a single currency, some businesses won't accept denominations over $50 (especially from OCONUS travelers)); so, they won't get burned that way. $100 bills are the most widely counterfeited around the world (in CONUS it's the $20 bill).

[xoxoxoBruce]

I read North Korea bought one of the rare printing presses from Switzerland that the US uses.

There's $900 Billion in US hundred dollar bills with half or more out of the country. So it's common to see them and prime target for counterfeiters.